Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Buys 559 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 43.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,836 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new position in STERIS during the first quarter worth $349,950,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 55.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,520,479 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $344,617,000 after purchasing an additional 540,999 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in STERIS by 9.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,232,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in STERIS during the first quarter worth $65,435,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in STERIS by 5.4% during the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,354,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $760,308,000 after purchasing an additional 170,392 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.82, for a total value of $38,449.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,356,034.72. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389 over the last 90 days. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $235.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $244.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.83. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $253.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.01.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 38.59%.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.